State v. Furr

Decision Date13 June 1977
Docket NumberNo. 73,73
Citation292 N.C. 711,235 S.E.2d 193
CourtNorth Carolina Supreme Court
PartiesSTATE of North Carolina v. Harold George FURR.

Hopkins, Hudson & Tucker by Elton S. Hudson, Albemarle, and Tharrington, Smith & Hargrove by Roger W. Smith, Raleigh, for defendant.

EXUM, Justice.

Defendant was placed on trial for and convicted of murder in the first degree of his wife and twelve counts of solicitation to commit a felony. He was sentenced to death in the murder case and was given three consecutive sentences of 8-10 years each in the solicitation cases. Nine of those cases were consolidated for one judgment by the trial court. Two separate judgments were entered in two others, and in one apparently no judgment was entered upon the verdict.

The state's evidence tends to show that defendant threatened to kill his wife, that he was separated from her and involved in property disputes with her. It also tends to show that defendant approached four people, George Arnold Black, Donald Lee Owens, Raymond Clontz and Donald Eugene Huneycutt, two of them upon a number of occasions, asking that they kill or find someone else to kill his wife or her attorney, Charles Brown, or another acquaintance, Johnny Jhue Laney. His defense to the murder charge was alibi. He denied the solicitation charges.

Defendant presents twelve arguments on appeal. Of most significance is his contention that nonsuit should have been granted in the murder case, since there is no evidence that it was Furr who killed his wife. We agree and hold that nonsuit should have been granted.

Of the assignments of error remaining, those pertaining to the nature of the offense of solicitation are of most significance. Most notably, defendant argues that: (1) in several of the solicitation cases nonsuit should have been granted; (2) proof that defendant solicited a named person to solicit another to commit murder is not proof of any criminal offense in North Carolina; (3) there was a fatal variance between indictments and proof where the indictments alleged that defendant solicited another to kill and murder the victim but the proof is that defendant solicited the named person to find someone else to kill the victim; and (4) several contacts between defendant and a solicitee constitute only one offense.

We find merit in defendant's argument that one of the solicitation charges should have been nonsuited. In the second and third contentions above we find no merit. The last argument we find unnecessary to address definitively since all the counts of solicitation at issue were consolidated for judgment.

The facts will be discussed in connection with the issues to which they pertain.

To prove that defendant murdered his wife, the state relies entirely upon circumstantial evidence. To withstand the motion for nonsuit, there must be substantial evidence of all material elements of the offense. State v. Evans, 279 N.C. 447, 183 S.E.2d 540 (1971); State v. Morgan,268 N.C. 214, 150 S.E.2d 377 (1966); State v. Roux, 266 N.C. 555, 146 S.E.2d 654 (1966). The evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the state, and every reasonable inference must be drawn in the state's favor. State v. Carter, 289 N.C. 35, 220 S.E.2d 313 (1975), death sentence vacated, 428 U.S. 904, 96 S.Ct. 3212, 49 L.Ed.2d 1211 (1976); State v. McKnight, 279 N.C. 148, 181 S.E.2d 415 (1971). Defendant's evidence rebutting the inference of guilt may be considered only insofar as it explains or clarifies evidence offered by the state or is not inconsistent with the state's evidence. State v. Blizzard, 280 N.C. 11, 184 S.E.2d 851 (1971); State v. Evans, supra ; State v. Bruton, 264 N.C. 488, 142 S.C.2d 169 (1965); State v. Oldham, 224 N.C. 415, 30 S.E.2d 318 (1944).

Applying these guidelines, we find the evidence sufficient to allow the jury to find the following facts:

The defendant and his wife had been married about 21 years and had four children when they separated in 1973. After the separation, Furr moved his real estate office from their home to a nearby location near the square in Locust, North Carolina. His wife, Earlene, continued to live at the house on Willow Drive and Furr moved into Western Hills Mobile Home Park. The couple's relationship was apparently quite volatile and Furr exhibited increasing hostility towards Earlene after the separation.

In April, 1973, Earlene filed a civil action against defendant resulting in a judgment against him in October, 1973. A year later, on his wife's motion, defendant was adjudged to be in contempt and was committed to jail. While in Stanly County jail, Furr met Raymond Clontz and Donald Owens, and related his marital problems to them, especially his concern over the property dispute. He was released from jail on December 6, 1974, upon payment of $13,623.00. After his release, Furr approached Clontz and Owens, drove them by Earlene's home and explained how to get into the house. He offered Owens $3,000.00 to kill Earlene and offered to give Clontz a lot which the latter wanted to store cars on if Clontz would do the job. Neither man accepted the offer.

In October, 1974, defendant asked "Buck" Baker if he knew a "hit man." At the time Furr was angry because Earlene had disposed of some racing equipment. Furr also approached Donald Eugene Huneycutt on several occasions to ask whether Huneycutt knew a "hit man." In the initial encounters, Furr wanted Johnny Jhue Laney killed because Laney had murdered his own wife, Doris, who was defendant's girl friend. By early 1975, however, Furr's plans extended as well to Earlene and her attorney, Charles Brown. Huneycutt told him killing women and lawyers would create "too much heat," but defendant responded that he could stand the heat and had his mother for an alibi.

Defendant also asked George Arnold Black, Jr., to kill Earlene, and drove him by the house in the fall of 1974. Like the others, Black declined the offer.

Furr was heard to threaten Earlene's life upon several occasions. In February, 1973, Earlene's brother-in-law, David Orrell, went to defendant because Earlene "was literally in terror of her life." Orrell told defendant, "She says that you had threatened to kill her, is that true?" Furr responded that he had, and added, "I can't stand her nagging any more."

In January, 1973, Johnny Jhue Laney called Furr to object to Earlene's telephone calls to Doris Laney accusing Doris of running around with Furr. A month later, Laney called Furr again concerning the same problem. Furr flew into a rage and said "he would kill her, and he would see to it, it wouldn't happen no more . . . that she had caused enough trouble in the community."

In the early part of 1975, during a conversation with Freddie Voncannon, the sister of Ruby Griffin, who was presently defendant's girl friend, Furr suggested Freddie burn Earlene's car.

Just after the 1973 separation, defendant's daughter, Beverly Tucker, overheard her mother begging defendant to come home. Furr responded that "she was ugly and he didn't want her any more, and that he hated her and that he would kill her, but he was going to make her suffer first and that he would grind her up like hamburger meat and feed her to the dogs." Once in 1974, when Beverly was driving her mother's car, defendant warned her to be careful driving that car through his trailer park, that he had told Earlene he would kill her if she came there, and he would hate to hit Beverly instead.

Rick Tallent, who had rented a pasture from Earlene, was embroiled in one of the couple's quarrels when he attempted to repair the fence. He heard defendant tell Earlene he would kill her if she came across the fence. Defendant's son, Chuck, also overheard that threat.

On 3 September 1975 defendant was served with papers in the matter of Frances Earlene H. Furr v. Harold G. Furr, notifying him to appear on 25 September 1975.

Very little evidence was presented of what actually transpired at the time of Earlene's death on 15 September 1975. Chuck Furr, the last to leave home that morning, testified that when he left at about 8:00 his mother was standing in the doorway. At about 2:15 that afternoon, eleven-year-old Todd came home from school and found his mother lying on his bed, dressed in a pink nightgown and valuable jewelry, with two gunshot wounds, one in the chin and one in the eye. An SBI chemist testified that Earlene's left-hand palm was either on or near a gun when it was discharged. There was no evidence of forcible entry. The front door was unlocked when Todd came home and the garage door closed. Earlene's watch crystal was broken and the hands stopped at 9:45 or 9:56 or sometime between 10:00 and 12:00 according to the testimony of various state's witnesses. The watch calendar said "15."

Several guns were found both in Earlene's home and in defendant's. None of these was connected to the crime. None of the fingerprints lifted from the scene matched defendant's. Defendant testified that he possessed a remote control device to open the garage door. Raymond Clontz said defendant had shown him the device.

One witness, Cecil Almond, said he saw defendant coming out of the trailer park with a lady in the car who "looked like Earlene" at about 9:30 or 9:40 on 15 September 1975. Nevertheless he testified that he did not actually recognize the lady, and acknowledged the possibility that it might have been Ruby Griffin.

The trip from defendant's trailer to Earlene's home takes about four minutes and forty seconds.

Defendant's alibi evidence tended to show he was in the company of Ruby Griffin almost constantly from between 9:00 and 9:30 that morning, when they left the trailer park together, until late that night. He presented numerous witnesses who had seen him with Ruby Griffin at various times in his office and at work sites between about 10:00 and noon. His testimony and that of his witnesses tends to establish that he and Ruby drove to Salisbury at...

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  • State v. McCoy, 88
    • United States
    • North Carolina Supreme Court
    • May 5, 1981
    ...evidence may be considered insofar as it merely explains or clarifies or is not inconsistent with the state's evidence. State v. Furr, 292 N.C. 711, 235 S.E.2d 193 (1977); State v. Bruton, 264 N.C. 488, 499, 142 S.E.2d 169, 176 (1965). If all the evidence shows nothing but an accidental kil......
  • State v. Kemmerlin
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    • North Carolina Supreme Court
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    ...We have previously defined the crime of solicitation as "counseling, enticing or inducing another to commit a crime." State v. Furr, 292 N.C. 711, 720, 235 S.E.2d 193, 199, cert. denied, 434 U.S. 924, 98 S.Ct. 402, 54 L.Ed.2d 281 (1977). Acting in concert, as applied to first-degree murder,......
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    ...the negative. Our law governing felonies continues to maintain common law distinctions between principals and accessories. State v. Furr, 292 N.C. 711, 235 S.E.2d 193, cert. denied, 434 U.S. 924, 98 S.Ct. 402, 54 L.Ed.2d 281 (1977). A principal is one who is present at and participates in t......
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    ..."The gravamen of the offense of soliciting lies in counseling, enticing or inducing another to commit a crime." State v. Furr , 292 N.C. 711, 720, 235 S.E.2d 193, 199 (citation omitted), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 924, 98 S.Ct. 402, 54 L.Ed.2d 281 (1977). Furthermore, evidence can still prove s......
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